A review on the use of nanomaterials in agriculture: benefits and associated health risks

Background: The present world population is about 7.9 billion and it is increasing continuously. Thus, there is an urgent requirement to enhance the agricultural output sustainably. Agricultural approaches such as the use of advanced agriculture methods, high productivity varieties, and enhanced application of fertilizers and pesticides have significantly increased food grain production but in an unsustainable way. Chemical-based conventional fertilizers and pesticides have been found associated with environmental pollution and other unwanted effects on the ecosystem, soil quality, and soil microflora, etc. Nanomaterials may be used to replace conventional fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture. Objective: The aim of this review is to provide information about the harmful effects of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and the use of nanomaterials in agriculture. Including this, the health risks of nanomaterials are discussed. Method: This review article includes a survey of literature from different online sources (for example, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar, etc.). Results: The improvement in agricultural output using chemical fertilizers and pesticides is considered unsustainable as it is increasing the cost of production, affecting the soil quality, disturbing nutrient availability in crops, and causing environmental pollution. Nanotechnology is a potent innovative practice and nanomaterials may be used in agriculture as nanofertilizers, nanopesticides, and nanosensors. Although these approaches have the potential to enhance agricultural productivity in a sustainable way, nanomaterials are also assumed to exhibit potential health risks to humans. Reports have indicated that nanomaterials have been found associated with many systematic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, neurotoxicity, and toxicity to the reproductive system, etc. Conclution: It is well accepted that chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture cause environmental toxicity and affect ecosystem activity. Nanomaterials have the potential to enhance agricultural output, but these are also associated with health risks. Thus, detailed scientific studies must be conducted about the potential health risk of nanomaterials before their commercial applications in agriculture.

Agricultural Output, Government Expenditure and Economic Growth in Nigeria: A Gregory-Hansen Cointegration Test with Structural Breaks

The agricultural sector at large plays a significant role in augmenting economic growth, serves as a source of income to the people, provides food to the teeming population, serves as a source of raw materials to the industries and provides foreign exchange to the country, etc. The current study investigates the short-run and long-run relationship among agricultural output, Government expenditure, and Economic growth in Nigeria using annual time series data from 1985 to 2019. The Zivot-Andrew unit root test indicates that gross domestic product, agricultural output, and exchange rate are stationary at first difference while government expenditure is stationary at level. The Gregory-Hansen test with structural break has confirmed the existence of a cointegration relationship among the variables employed. The Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) model with break indicates that, in the short-run agricultural output has a negative and statistically insignificant effect on real gross domestic product Nigeria, government expenditure has a positive and statistically significant effect on real gross domestic product in Nigeria, and the exchange rate has a positive and statistically significant effect on real gross domestic product in Nigeria. The break-point coefficient has positive and statistically significant. The long-run result shows that agricultural output has a positive effect on the real gross domestic product in Nigeria, government expenditure has a positive effect on real gross domestic product in Nigeria, and the exchange rate has positive effects on the real gross domestic product in Nigeria. The break coefficient shows positive and statistically significant. The study recommends that the Nigerian government should reduce the lending rate on agriculture and provide incentives to the farmers, this will encourage farmers to borrow and consequently, agricultural output will increase and the Nigerian government should increase its expenditure on agriculture to boost the sector and achieve higher economic growth.

STUDY OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND THE VOLUME OF ITS FINANCING

The effectiveness of the use of financial and credit resources is largely determined by the methods of their distribution in directions and methods of bringing them to the final recipient. The current level of development of financial and credit relations in agriculture indicates the relevance of the formation and development of an adequate system of state regulation and financial support for the agricultural sector of the economy.The system of state regulation and support of the agricultural sector of the economy is represented by a number of relevant mechanisms. This system is implemented in practice by mechanisms of price, tax, credit and financial regulation, mechanisms for regulating social development, direct budgetary support within the framework of special targeted programs.In the course of the research, the task was set to identify the relationship between the amount of financial resources received by agricultural producers in the form of government support and the amount of agricultural products they produce. To resolve this issue, we analyzed the volumes of gross agricultural production and the volume of financing of agricultural producers in the country as a whole and in the context of regions for the period from 2016 to 2020.The analysis showed that there are certain shortcomings in determining the amount of financing. So, for example, in a number of regions with the same volumes of gross agricultural output, the volumes of financing differ sharply with the same structure of resources used. And vise versa, in other regions, which are provided with an approximately equal amount of funding, the level of gross agricultural output differs sharply. From the point of view of ensuring a more rational and efficient distribution of state financial resources, first of all, they should be provided to those agricultural producers who achieve a stable annual growth of production indicators in crop and livestock raising.

Impact Assessment of Agriculture and Manufacturing Sectors on economic Growth in Nigeria.

This study tried to investigate the impact of agriculture and manufacturing on economic growth using time series data from (1987-2019). To analyze the link between the variables, the researchers utilized the ADF to test for stationarity, the Ordinary Least Square Method, the Error Correction Model, and the Granger Causality Test. The result shows that, the coefficient of agricultural output has a positive sign, indicating a favorable association. The AGRQ coefficient is (0.045142), implying that a 5% change in AGRQ will result in a 5% change in Manufacturing Value Added. At the 0.05 percent level, the finding is statistically significant, with a probability of (0.0000). The coefficient of determination R-Squared (R2) is 0.817974, indicating that variations in the explanatory variables account for nearly 82 percent of the variation in Manufacturing Value Added. The ECM's coefficient (-1) is (0.619202). The coefficient indicates that the short run adjustment annually offsets 62% of the system's disequilibrium in order to restore long-run equilibrium. This means that the system will reach equilibrium at a 62 percent rate the following year. At the 5% level of significance, Granger causality demonstrates that there is no causal link between Manufacturing Value Added and Real Gross Domestic Product. However, manufacturing value-added and agricultural output have a one-way relationship. The study recommends that government must urgently expand the Nigerian agricultural sector by allocating more financing to the industry and ensuring that the funds are used wisely and to further support increased industrial productivity and expansion, the government should work to strengthen its incentives to the manufacturing sector.

Incremental returns from rice cultivation through gender sensitive approaches - a vivid illustration

In addition to several household chores, women in rural areas remain involved very actively in farming activities. On getting similar access to productive resources as men, women can boost overall agricultural output as well as income significantly. A group of farm women from 'Sankilo' village of Cuttack district, Odisha have been provided with half-an acre land with the power to decide all farm operations and ICAR-NRRI, Cuttack provided technical support for five years' period. It is being observed that returns from rice cultivation increased considerably and 'technology' in terms of demonstrations mostly contributed the difference in yield and returns over pre-project situations. Household income of family of individual women was also assessed and observed that education, family size and irrigated land holding determine the variations in income. The study advocated for appropriate policies to extend access of farm resources and impart proper education as well as capacity building of the women for enhancing the knowledge and adoptive capacity for the technologies to boost the yield and income.

Energy Consumption and Bi-Sectoral Output in Pakistan: A Disaggregated Analysis

The objective of study is to check the vigorous impact of energy consumption on industrial and agricultural output with disaggregated analysis by having openness in both sectors and tube wells lone in agriculture sector as controlled variables. It is essential to analyze a connection between energy consumption and bi-sectoral output in Pakistan. Industrial and agricultural outputs have been taken as dependent variable, as they are mainly dependent on energy consumption. The data from 1999-2019 is employed for the analysis. The econometric technique autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) results are showing a strong bond between energy consumption and industrial output in disaggregated relationship. Electricity shows a negative relationship with industrial output because of developing countries power supply failure dilemma. Similarly, agriculture sector shows significance with energy consumption in disaggregated analysis. Openness of agriculture and gas consumption in agriculture shows a negative but statistically significant relationship. Capital and labor in both sectors are highly influencing regressors as par neo classical output theory, in our disaggregated energy consumption analysis. Error correction regression shows a strong short run and long run relationship of energy consumption with industrial and agricultural output. The stability diagnostic recursive estimates show the perfectly interlinked variables in both models. The present research is equally important for the academic and policy makers as it reveals a strong bond between energy consumption and bi-sector output in Pakistan. Potential measures on energy supply can increase industrial and agricultural output.

The Influence of New Agricultural Business Entities on the Economic Welfare of Farmer’s Families

Promoting the coordinated development of new agricultural business entities and small farmers is an important way to realize rural revitalization. It is undoubtedly of great significance to clarify the impact and its mechanism of new agricultural business entities on the economic welfare of farmers’ families. Based on the 2015 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) data, this paper builds a theoretical analytical framework of “new agricultural business entities—non-agricultural employment and agricultural output—economic welfare of farmers’ family”. From the intermediary perspective of the non-agricultural employment and agricultural output, it empirically tests the impact of new agricultural business entities on the economic welfare of farmers’ families by combining the analysis methods of the benchmark regression and intermediary effect. The research shows that: (1) New agricultural business entities promote the improvement of the economic welfare of farmers’ families. The specific manifestation is that the existence of new agricultural business entities can not only increase the per capita annual income of farmers’ families, but also promote the per capita consumption expenditure of farmers’ families in the village. (2) Non-agricultural employment and agricultural output have a significant mediating effect in the impact of new agricultural business entities on the economic welfare of farmers’ families. (3) In addition to key variables, variables such as education, political status, and family status are also key factors affecting the economic welfare of farmers’ families. Finally, this paper puts forward some policy recommendations such as cultivating high-quality new agricultural business entities, strengthening farmers’ technical training, and optimizing rural residents’ policies.